A Look into the Past
by Just call me Angels
Summary: [FF6] This story is developed around Celes' past and her life as a child in the Empire. Didn't you ever wonder what it was like? Why did she choose to shut off her emotions? Ladies, take out your hankies.
1. Just Memories away

I wanted to try something new with this story and approached it from a different perspective. What were Celes, Kefka, and Leo like when they were children? How did they interact? What made them the way they are today? I wanted to explore Kefka's insanity and his fixation on Terra differently then other fanfics did [besides the whole 'romance' between them, which I highly doubt was possible since Terra was under the influence of the slave crown]; and of course, I also wanted to explain why Celes was independent and closed off her feelings. She didn't just 'act' that way because she felt like it you know, there has to be a reason she was like that. So I gave her one in this story. ;D

Disclaimer ~ Final Fantasy is a trademark of Sqauresoft® and its respective owners, which does not include me. That translates to I do not own FF6 or any of it's characters.

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A Look into the past…

Celes sat with her legs folded inside her arms, burying her head in her knees.

"Leo…Kefi…" she muttered silently.

She felt guilty about what had happened. About Terra being used. About Leo dying. About her being a general. About her killing people and destroying their homes. About Kefka being killed. About her not being able to help anyone.

About everything.

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Flash back – 15 years ago. Celes : Age 4

Leo and Kefka walked side by side, making devious plans to put frogs into one of the serving maids beds. They were quite the mischievous pair; you could never see one without seeing the other close by. They were inseparable brothers.

"Kefi, Leo, WAIT!" cried a small voice.

They turned around to see a small girl running towards them. Celes Chere was only a little bit younger than they were. The three were the only children in the Empire, and Gesthal had high hopes for them. They would be at his right hand side when he was old and gray, fiercely loyal and willing to do every one of his dastardly deeds to the bitter end.

Kefka's face lit up. "Hi Celes!" he chirped.

Celes finally caught up with the two boys. She had ran quite a long way and stopped to breathe before she finally spoke.

"The Emperor wants to see us! He said he was gonna finally train us to be generals, and we start tomorrow! We have a meeting right now so we gotta go to his chambers."

The boy's face lit up. They had been waiting so long to start their training and now they finally were. Filled with excitement, they jumped up and gave each other a mid air high five.

"Alright!" Leo screamed. "I'm gonna be the greatest general their ever was and I'm gonna conquer the world for our Emperor and I'm gonna train really really really hard!"

"Me too!" Kefka exclaimed.

"Me three!" Celes repeated.

"And your gonna marry Kefka and be his wife when you grow up too!" Kefka interjected.

"Eeeew, no! Boys have cooties and are icky!" Celes said while she was sticking her tongue out in a playful manner.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yes-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yes-huh!"

"I'm gonna put this frog on you Celes!" Kefka threatened, waving the reptile right in front of her face.

"Eeek! Nooo! Stop it Kefi!" Celes wailed.

She turned away from them and ran towards the meeting area, with Leo and Kefka following her, frogs fully loaded in each hand.

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Don't you just love the nickname I dubbed Kefka with? I have a feeling that if he were real and people called him that, he would go doubly insane and then re-destroy the world….again. XD;;

I really enjoyed writing this, and you guys can pretty much see where this is going between Celes and 'Kefi'. I hope you enjoy it too, but I'm sure I'll get that one or two people that will hate just to hate. Oh well. :P Can't please everyone.

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	2. Celes: Age 10

Before all you die hard Celes fans jump on me for making her "Out of Character", please remember what **_AGE_** (hence the Celes: Age ** before each chapter installment) she is in this next chapter. When you're a kid, you get jealous easily and you want to win, always. So don't sit here and lecture me about out of character, because it isn't. If your going to sit here and say that Celes is so perfect that she never did anything petty, _even as a child_, you're blind, a fool and a liar to boot. The same thing for the other characters. Remember, hind site is 20/20; right now they are acting like assess, but they only express regret after they admit they did wrong things. Once again, this is before the game, extremely before the game, so please keep an open mind, and realize that just *maybe* they didn't act the same or share the same views as they did a decade or so ago.

Disclaimer ~ Final Fantasy is a trademark of Sqauresoft® and its respective owners, which does not include me. That translates to I do not own FF6 or any of it's characters.

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Flashback – 9 years ago. Celes: Age 10

Their training was excellent. Only the best would be acceptable for the future generals f the empire. Kefka and Leo developed into fine young men. For their age, both were strong, handsome, and great warriors. Despite the fact that she was a girl, Celes excelled. Because she was trained at a very early age at the same pace the boys were, she was more than able to keep up with them. In several areas she would surpass them. The three had even gone training out in the field. This was where Kefka and Celes surpass Leo. Leo always took the peaceful way to solve things. He would do what he needed to, no doubt, but always held compassion and sympathy for the other side. After all, they were against the mighty empire, so they stood no chance. And if they were kind and considerate, they would rebel less and accept the empire as their rightful ruler. Violence and death didn't seem to phase Celes and Kefka at all. They didn't enjoy doing it, but didn't hesitate to set a house on fire either, if the order was given. After all, it was what they were trained to do. This _was_ war, and they didn't have the time to go picking daisies in a field of flowers.

"Come on Leo, lighten up," Kefka said, "Remember, we are doing this for the glory of the empire."

"Kefi is right," Celes added in, "If you let all the little things get to you, then won't be able to do your job correctly."

"I know that…" Leo stated remorsefully, " But I just think that we should do it a different way…"

The other two just shrugged. A guard signaled the pre-teenagers inside. They did as they were told and followed the guard to the 'thrown' room. Emperor Gesthal was sitting there with a look on his that ment they were going to do something. All three lined up in front of him and knelt. After a few seconds, they rose and looked at their leader expectantly.

"How are my aspiring young warriors doing?" he asked with a sincere smile on his face.

"Excellent, your majesty, all thanks to you," Celes answer.

"That is wonderful to hear," he replied. 

At that moment a loud roar could be heard. It was inhuman, but at the same time, it almost sounded like someone was saying 'Terra'. The three kids were unfazed. It was more than likely just some stupid Esper again. Ever since they were in the cradle they could hear those beast crying from the magic tech factory, but after a while you learn to tune things out. Gesthal raised his hand and motioned one of the guards to do something. In a few minutes, the door opened and a couple of other guards were dragging a young, green-haired girl into to room. The girl was the same age as Celes. She was kicking, screaming, and crying, trying to escape her captors. The Esper's roar was much louder and clearer now – it WAS saying 'Terra'.

"NO! LET ME GO!" the girl screamed, "FATHER! FATHER! FAAAAAATHER!"

"Silence you half breed!" one of the soldiers screamed. He slapped her, trying to get her to be quite, but she just kept calling out to her father. Cid entered the room from the same door the girl came out of, and shut it immediately to muffle the noise a little.

"It's seems as though the girl regained a brief bit of her memory," Cid explained. He adjusted the spectacles on his face and continued. "I have improved upon the slave crown that I first made years ago to control this specimen. I have made it absolutely flawless. Before, if the subject had a strong will, it might have been able to fight back against the crown, as you people know."

There were accounts of this half-esper, half-human rebelling against them and the slave crown, much to the Emperor's chagrin. Such events would end up disastrous. She was extremely powerful, but Gesthal was determined to turn her into a useful tool instead of having her drained like all the others.

"Of course, the price for total control of the specimen will lead to complete memory loss. It's permanent. She won't ever be able to regain any of her memories."

Gesthal grinned evilly, "Then it truly is perfect. Go ahead and place it on her head."

The girl began to thrash more violently as Cid approached her. The crown was place on her head and the results were immediate. She stopped moving and was no longer screaming. Her tears had dried up and stood completely vertically, read for her first order. The commotion below was greater than ever. Another soldier ran to thrown room, out of breath.

"Sire!" he exclaimed, "that esper that was acting up before has broken lose! He is on a rampage!"

"Heavens man then contain the monster at once!" Gesthal yelled. "All of you, get that Esper under control!"

"YES SIR!" all the foot soldiers said in unison, giving a salute all the while.

"Wait!" cried Cid. "You must very VERY delicate with it. That esper is a Tri-element esper, the first one we have had. I want to try something different with it. I want to see if I can extract ALL his elemental powers, so you must be careful. I forbid you to harm it. The process I use to extract the elements will take much longer, and be much more painful than it would for a normal esper, but this one has a strong will, like his daughter. I think he will last. And if it works, just think of the scientifical discoveries we will make!"

The soldiers grunted, but had no choice other than to do what they were told. They filed out of the room neatly, like a bunch of ants, with Cid following slowly behind them. Celes took this time to glance at her companions. They were both staring at the new girl. She felt a twinge of jealousy inside her. Leo was looking at her with sympathy and Kefka with awe. The Emperor cleared his throat and Celes turned her attention back to him.

"Celes, Kefka, I have a special mission for you two. I want you two to take this girl and capture Maranda. I will be just the three of you, with no soldiers or Magitech armor. I know it's quite a feet to do, but I am sure you can accomplish it. I have high expectations for you. Also, this will be the trial run for our new 'ally'. I expect a full progress report on how she did during the battle. Celes will be the leader of this mission, and Kefka, you will be in charge of reporting everything our specimen does." He turned to Leo and began to speak. "Leo, I have something special in store for you as well. My chancellors have told me that you posses a gift of strategy. Come hither boy, and let us see if we can exploit that gift."

Leo and Gesthal exited the room, leaving Terra, Celes and Kefka behind. Celes and Kefka made their way out the doors, when Kefka spun around and said "Come along now Miss Terra, we have a city to capture." The girl, expressionless, nodded slowly and walked towards her new 'masters'. They waited for her and when she caught up to them, they began to walk side by side. Celes was slightly irritated and stopped.

"You walk BEHIND us," she said in a slightly agitated tone, "not beside us."

The girl nodded again, and let the other two get a few steps in front of her before she began to follow them again.

Conquering Maranda was quite easy with the aid of Terra. Neither of the two had to lift a finger while she was under the slave crown. It was in minutes that the city fell to her. Kefka was extremely impressed. Celes, on the other hand, was bitterly jealous. She was so used to being the best at everything, and just moments ago she was upstaged by some - - mongrel of a human. She couldn't **stand** it. This thing was far more powerful than she ever was, and it was stealing her Kefi's attention. Celes vowed to train harder, to become stronger than that mutt. She just had to! Back at HQ, Kefka gave the exact report of how everything went at Maranda. Gesthal was pleased. Celes and Kefka were excused, and they both left to go to their quarters. Kefka could tell there was something wrong with Celes.

"Hey, Celes, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

She stopped walking and pouted for a little bit and pouted.

"Kefi…" she said a bit hesitantly, "You don't think… that Terra girl is pretty… do you?"

A smile slide across Kefka's face. He knew what was going on inside the young girl's mind, and it seemed to him…rather cute.

"Not half as pretty as you," he replied smoothly.

Her face became flustered, and she tried to hide it, but it was no good. His smile grew into a big grin.

"You don't think she is stronger than me, do you?"

"OH she is definitely stronger, Celes, but you don't have to worry. She is just a brainless doll. You're way more important than she will ever be."

Celes turned back to her childhood friend, her face still slightly red. "Thanks Kefi," she said silently. Celes walked slowly into her room, then went to bed with a warm feeling of satisfaction in her.

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In case you couldn't tell, Celes was worried that her friends, Leo and Kefi (most of all) would like Terra better then her. She started feeling insecure about her looks and strength when Terra came into the picture. It's no big deal, something that all pre-teens and teenagers go through. :P She just needed an ego booster, which Kefka was more than happy to give. :D


	3. Celes: Age 14

I like how this story is turning out. How about you people? _Constructive_ Feedback is appreciated. Of course if you want to just flat out praise/flame me, then there really isn't much I can do, so go right ahead. I find both of them to be amusing. ;)

Disclaimer ~ Final Fantasy is a trademark of Sqauresoft® and its respective owners, which does not include me. That translates to I do not own FF6 or any of it's characters.

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Flashback – 5 years ago. Celes: Age 14

It was now time for their second magitech injection. They were given magitech injections once before when they were infants, but they would need a second to make things permanent. Kefka and Celes had grown much closer over the past few years. They were an unofficial couple. What used to be Celes, Kefka, and Leo in group doing things together as children, was now Celes and Kefka doing something together, with Leo watching on the sidelines.

They made their way to Cid's research labs. They past all the tubes, which contained espers that had their every fiber, sucked out of them. They didn't even flinch. They got up to the tables where they would be injected with magic and saw Cid waiting for them.

"Ah, good, you are finally here," he said, "I've been waiting for you. Actually, I'd like to try something new."

"Something new?"

"Yes, actually. I will make the person much stronger than just a normal infusion, but I still need to test it to see it's full potential."

Kefka and Celes looked at each other. They had no idea what the side effects of such a thing would be, or maybe they were just over acting? Maybe everything would be ok?

"Kefka?" Cid asked.

"Right, I'll go first," he offered.

Neither of them wanted anything to happen to Celes, so Kefka would go first in this new experiment. He laid down on the metal bed, and was strapped in. Cid explained that he needed to be strapped in because this would be slightly more painful than the normal procedures. Several needles and wires were being hooked up to him. Celes looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"Don't worry Celes," he cooed, "I'll be alright!"

She nodded, slowly, but was still obviously afraid. The site of all those needles and wires would be something that would haunt her forever. But what could she do? If it was for the glory of the empire, she will have one thousand of those needles and wires in her and do the same thing as Kefka. She crossed her fingers and hoped nothing would wrong.

Cid flipped a switch and the process begun. Two nearby tubes with espers in them began to glow faintly. The wires and needles attached to Kefka also glowed faintly. He could feel their essence pouring into him - - and it was dreadfully painful. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth. There was no way he could cry like a little boy in front of her. He would never be able to bear it. Kefka had to stay strong. Cid turned the dial up slowly and the tubes began to glow brighter. The process was speeding up and Kefka's face was turning red. Some veins began to bulge. Celes was getting worried. The espers, in dire pain, began acting up inside their tubes. They began to thrash about and cry in pain. It looked as if they were casting spells inside their tubes. This proved to be too much for the machines to handle. Sparks were flying and it began to malfunction. The process sped up and drained more power, putting much more in Kefka than originally intended, more than he could handle. The light almost completely engulfed the room and blinded everyone. The pain Kefka was feeling was more than he could bear. He was screaming loudly in pain and was writhing on the table full of aches. It looked as if the poor boy was having serious seizures or convulsions, but there was no way he could get away from the pain because he was strapped to the bed.

"Kefi!" Celes cried.

She pulled out her blade and began to attack the surrounding computers. She plunged her sword into them, pulled them out, and slashed violently at them, but it only seemed to have made things worse. The light was getting brighter each second and Kefka's cries were more agonizing. She furiously tried to destroy the machines but in the process got her sword imbedded into one of them. Celes tried to pull it out, but gave up after a few futile attempts. She started yanking wires from the walls and everywhere else she could find them. The light dimmed, and eventually went out. The Espers were floating lifelessly in their tubes. There was nothing flowing into Kefka anymore. He was violently twitching and muttering a few incoherent words.

"Kefi! Kefi!" Celes cried as she ran over to his side. She yanked the straps off and held his hand in both of hers with tears in her eyes. Kefka's eyes were blank. The poor boy looked as if he was just deep-fried in a Presto Fry Daddy only to live and be salted shortly afterwards. Cid rushed over and began to take the needles and wires out, but Kefka didn't seem to notice. He was immediately rushed to the medic with Celes at his side the entire time.

Kefka healed surprisingly quickly. A few weeks actually. But something about him was different. Almost immediately Celes could tell something was wrong. He was acting differently…talking differently. He even treated Celes and Leo as if they were inferior to him.

It wasn't long afterwards that Cid had to make a report to the Emperor.

"I fear, my lord," he started, "that our attempts at improving our magic infused knights failed. Infusing two espers into one person at once instead of only one proved more that what our current technology and officers could handle. I fear the side effects of the failed experiment is that Kefka is slowly, but surely, losing his sanity."

Gesthal raised a brow. "How is this so?"

"Sir, it has been reported that Kefka's entire demeanor has changed. He is acting callously towards his childhood friends, Celes and Leo. He now takes pleasure in torturing newborn puppies and has even been seen to where clown clothing and make up on his face!"

"Poppy cock," replied the Emperor. "He is just going through a phase. In any case, I take it Celes will NOT be going through the same process. I cannot have two of my three leaders go through magitech accidents."

"Yes sir," Cid replied, "Celes will only undergo normal magitech infusion."

"Good."

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Elsewhere in the empire…

"Uweehee hee, how are you doing, Terra, my wonderful, prefect, natural, powerful magic user?" Kefka asked in a twisted tone.

Terra's face was blank and expressionless as ever. "I am fine, Sir Kefka," she said in a monotone voice.

"Kefi?" a mee voice asked.

Kefka turned around to see Celes, shyly entering the room with a withdrawn look on her face. She was staring at the floor.

"Would you stop calling me that ridiculous name?!" he snapped.

"Kefka I wanted to talking with you," she said with a twinge of guilt in her voice.

"Make it snappy woman," he said, "Can't you see I'm spending time with my beloved chaos bringer?"

Celes' face lit up with rage. "If that is the way you're going to act, then forget about it!" she screamed, storming off.

"Good riddance," he muttered.

Celes was heartbroken. This was the man she secretly adored her entire life? She couldn't stand the way she felt. She couldn't stand the heart ache. From now on she would be strong and hide all her emotions so nobody could hurt her again. This emptiness was consuming her and she never wanted to feel it again, but at the same time she just couldn't completely blotch it out of her heart. She was walking into her chambers when Cid approached her.

"Celes, it's time for your infusion. Please follow me."

She nodded and they made their way to the part of his lab that wasn't destroyed.

"Because of the failure last time, we will be doing things the old fashioned way. Now what element would you want infused in you?"

"Ice," she replied coldly with unfeeling eyes.

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Heh, I hope I wrenched every single emotion in your body and ripped your gut out with this story. Just kidding. :P I could end it here, but I also want to explore certain game scenes with this setup. Of course if you think I should end the story here, then tell me and I'll consider it. XD;;

And at the end, with Kefka drooling all over Terra, it wasn't love. :P It was like a teenager swooning over his daddy's mustang, waiting to take it out and drive it [NOT in a sexual way mind you. You dirty dirty perverts. _]. Remember, now Kefka is in the state of mind where he enjoys chaos, and Terra did manage to take over an entire city within minutes.


End file.
